I’ve written before about the surprising power of 20 seconds, also known as “The 20-Second Rule.”1 This is probably my favorite life-hack. The 20-Second Rule is simple: If you make something just 20 seconds easier to do, you’ll be much more likely to do it. And if you make something just 20 seconds harder to do, you’ll be much less likely to do it. There’s nothing special about 20 seconds… Read More »The 20-Second Rule Revisited
It’s cliché to say that you can’t please everyone. But this is precisely the sort of sanity-restoring wisdom that we all understand to be true, and we all routinely forget. So here’s a little gem that has been helping me remember … and causing me to quietly chuckle to myself whenever I think of it: You are not the jackass whisperer. This wisdom comes to us from author Scott Stratten,… Read More »You Are Not the Jackass Whisperer
I used to see myself as someone with very weak willpower. I had poor self-discipline and limited self-control. I was prone to addictions. I was lazy. Or so I thought. I was, unconsciously, cherry-picking evidence of my lack of willpower, perhaps in order to justify taking the easy road, skipping workouts, eating sugar, and remaining an addict. An honest, unbiased assessment would have revealed that I did, in fact, have… Read More »Improving Your Willpower Identity
Have you ever had a near-death experience? I have. A year and a half ago, I took a bad ski fall, which I described in my post on gratitude journaling. In case you missed that post, here’s the story: I was skiing along the edge of a 30-foot tall, frozen waterfall – a terraced cliff, covered in ice. Taking a right-hand turn near the edge of the cliff, my skis… Read More »Every Day is a Bonus Day